PERSONAL SERVICE STILL COUNTS!

The battle for high street sales got a lot tougher over the past year, with intense competition between bricks and mortar operators and the increasing market share taken by online retailers, some with shops and others purely selling in the Cloud.

Having spent the past 40 years selling different technologies to retailers around the world, it’s concerning to see how many people assume that the future of high street retailing is dead. It will be different, but it’s been well known for some years that there is too much retail space, and that the emphasis needs to be on quality rather than quantity. This has been accelerated during the pandemic, because those that were struggling to survive before were effectively finished off, or have had to restructure in an attempt to survive.

The town planners and business communities have to work together, would you rather have one thriving busy street of retail, or 3 streets with half the shops boarded up?

When my grandfather had a grocery store (pictured) in Hull, going into his store was an experience, with the way he presented the produce and the smell of freshly ground coffee etc. He used to deliver free of charge within a 4-mile radius on two days of the week. In the years that followed his retirement, self-service, larger stores out of town and low prices became the driving forces in grocery. But now – delivery is back in a way no one could have imagined. Our local village shop, which does groceries, fruit and is also a Post office, is delivering to houses within 3 miles and business is booming for them. Most customers say they will continue to use them after the pandemic is over. They’re even making a drive to cut out plastic packaging, so various food items can be purchased loose and put into your own reusable containers. All payment types are welcomed, including cash, and the safety measures they put in place, such as plastic screens at the counter and a limit to the number of people in store, have been sensible and in line with the science.

There will continue to be a balance between online and face to face selling in future retail, but store owners need to continue to think hard about what makes them different, and how to keep it personal. Building relationships and earning the trust of customers is as important as ever.

MJC